Ebook: Linux in a nutshell: a desktop quick reference

Although I'm not an advanced user, I do work in Linux everyday. In spite of that repetition and daily reinforcement, this is the one book I use daily, in some form or fashion.

Frankly, it's just not possible for me to remember all of the Linux commands. This is a user's guide that is more than useful; it's clearly written and all of the commands are covered in alphabetical order. I prefer having a handy reference volume versus sifting through Google search results. If you already have a basic understanding of using Linux and want a good book for looking up how specific commands work, then this is your reference manual. It's useful for beginner, intermediate, and the experienced user AND there's a comprehensive index of both topics and commands and it's easy to find what you're looking for. Should you need more, you will have to refer to man pages!

Having worked with UNIX for many years, I found the chapter on virtualization a little light but that's probably best, given their complexity and depth. The chapters on Shells, Boot Methods and networking are great and offer enough detail to most folks off and running with these concepts. The chapter on the various editors is well done and contains excellent detail; certainly enough to get you going with any of them. Package management was also presented well and helped me understand a good bit more about yum, after having used aptitude for years. I don't do much with sed, gawk or version control but the chapters on those technologies were understandable and will prove useful in the future.

Overall, I find this book extremely valuable and it is one of those that I keep handy at all times. It is, in my opinion, THE essential Linux reference book.